Kelly Johnson, chairwoman of the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights, said the decision is an example of evolving sentiment on the issue of gay rights.

“You’ve seen a shift, in the last 15 years, in attitudes,” Johnson said.

And recently, Johnson added, that shift has moved at an “exponential pace.”

Johnson, who has worked to promote gay equality, is hopeful today’s decision will reverberate through the community, but she said there is still a long way to go before gay and lesbian Springfield residents can enjoy federal marriage benefits.

Missouri’s Constitution bans same-sex marriage.

“It’s terrific that these things are happening but I think we are so behind. We are trying to catch up with the most basic rights and privileges,” Johnson said, referencing the current and controversial debate around adding sexual orientation to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance.

“It does sort of sting a little bit how far we have to come in our municipality.”

Dave Myers, with Live Free Springfield, said the Proposition 8 case was a blow to the people’s ability to govern themselves. In that case, the Supreme Court found that citizens trying to defend the California gay marriage ban did not have standing to do so, after the state declined to defend the voter-passed ban.

“The people are the government. The people elect the leaders who appoint the judges,” Myers said. “If the people aren’t allowed to stand up for their decision, who will?”

Myers said the DOMA ruling, combined with the Proposition 8 case, takes away power from the people and gives the government more power over marriage.

“The government really shouldn’t be involved in the business of marriage,” Myers said. “It’s not the government’s job to tell me who I can or cannot marry.”

In statement, John Yeats, director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, echoed Myers’ point but also cited Christianity in expressing his disappointment over the rulings.

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“First, the branches of our federal government continue to chisel away states’ rights to carry out the will of their people,” Yeats said. “Second, and more disturbing, they reflect the fact that a growing number of Americans increasingly embrace behaviors that violate natural law and biblical truth.”

Jeff Munzinger, a Springfield parent of a gay daughter, is hopeful the decision will influence public opinion locally.

“Hopefully the decision will open the hearts and minds of people in Missouri and open the door for greater understanding,” he said.

Munzinger said he knows several gay couples who have traveled to nearby states to get married. Many of those couples, Munzinger said, have kept their marriage secret.

“This has got to be so affirming to them,” he said.

He also hopes local gays and lesbians, friends and families will feel empowered by the high court’s call.

Munzinger is a board member of the Springfield chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

When Johnna Forbes, 32, heard the ruling she said, “It’s pretty awesome. It’s not going to happen in Missouri for a long time though.”

Forbes, of Springfield, is raising 1-month old Liam with her partner, Anna Davis.

Forbes believes Liam will grow up more secure if she has a partner, but she worries that since they both come from broken families that the same will happen to them.

“We hope to change that — for us to stay together,” she said.

Tonya Staeger, 40, has a 10-year-old son and is in a five-year relationship with another woman. She learned about the ruling on Facebook, then went to news sources.

“It’s fantastic news,” she said.

“It legitimizes an inalienable right for all. We know that separate but equal never works.”